RE makes a powerful contribution to young people’s learning. It provides them with the chance to explore the big ideas of religion and belief and to think about what matters in their own lives.
Good RE supports the development of the whole child. It also has a significant contribution to make to whole school improvement. With the renewed focus from Ofsted on the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development for all pupils, it is more important than ever that RE is recognised and celebrated.
The RE Quality Mark has two purposes: it recognises good practice in RE and also provides a powerful tool for development. Schools which have applied for the award have found that it affirms the work they are already doing, raises the profile of the subject and gives them ideas and confidence for developing their practice even further.
The criteria and exemplar evidence in the REQM School Evidence Form will help you to determine the award level you meet. These criteria are divided into four sections:
Learning
Teaching
Curriculum
Leadership
The assessor will also talk through the evidence with you and will discuss with a member of the senior leadership team the extent to which RE is supported in the school. We suggest that you highlight those criteria which you think you meet and give brief examples of how you meet them.
During the meeting, the assessor will make notes about how secure the evidence is on the school evidence form. At the end of the visit, the assessor will usually be able to tell you the level they will be recommending for the award. This will be confirmed by the REQM Administrator who will arrange for a certificate to be sent to the school.
A key part of the evidence is what your learners say about RE. You need to survey the views of young people in your setting, using one of the learner questionnaires. The assessor will spend time speaking to a range of pupils in school.
The assessor will also talk through the evidence with you and will discuss with a member of the senior leadership team the extent to which RE is supported in the school.
Use the criteria and exemplar evidence in the REQM school evidence form to help you to determine the award level you meet.
Please Note: We will need to know if your school requires a Welsh speaking assessor for the visit. Please include this request in an emai to the REQM office.
There are no grants available at the moment through the REC (June 2020). Schools are encouraged to contact their local RE Trust if there is one available, or their local SACRE for advice about individual applications and support
RE is very useful for the development of children’s literacy skills. It gives them additional opportunities for speaking and listening, reading and writing. Some of the drama is particularly useful for our EAL children and the RE writing gives them an opportunity to express opinions about another part of their school life.
In RE we challenge ourselves by thinking outside the box.
Going out to visit places of worship – going to the mosque was fun. Going to visit Westminster Abbey tour was great. We had a workshop that taught us more about Christian beliefs. By going to a place of worship you get the experience of seeing and feeling what it is like. You get professionals to talk to you about the religion, even better than a teacher.
RE is like an iceberg – as you unpack things you come to understand deeper meaning as in the parables or considering what truth means.
A big question stays with you until you find the answer.
I like the way in RE, a question often leads to a question.
Join the REQM community and help to build an effective RE in your setting and across the wider education world.
Get started, Apply Today